How to ship fish plants inverts and corals

**jetajockey** · 05-15-2011, 9:44 PM

Originally Posted by Jumko

Just curious, for those of you that ship USPS, do you let the post office know the contents when they ask (liquid, live animals, etc.)? Also, when shipping express mail, does anybody know the specific rules when it comes to being granted a refund? I've had numerous shipments now sent express mail with guaranteed next day delivery (says guaranteed delivery date and time on tracking site), but have yet to receive any package within one day (it always takes two days to arrive at my house despite the fact I don't live in a rural or inaccessible area).

I don't tell them. I do most of my postage online now though so I rarely speak to an actual postal worker.

As far as the express thing goes, file a claim with them, you should get a refund if they didn't get it there by the guaranteed time

**SickBum** · 05-30-2011, 10:16 AM

Originally Posted by REDKAHUNA

Last year I shipped 352 boxes of fish. I lost 26 fish total out of more than 1000. I dont starve them for 48 hrs. I do not feed them the night before or day of shipping. I package the fish 1/4 water 3/4 air from my pump, I leave a hose running to aleveat pressure so I fill the bags with it. I double bag the fish and use 12x5 inch bags I know this sounds long but you are then able to tie a real knot in both bags. I put 2 -3 per bag at 1 inch or so. Adult fish go into overly large bags 4-5 per bag. Overnight shipping adult and expensive fish. 90% of my shipping is Priority mail. I do not reccomend rubber bands or wire ties etc.. I have recived fish this way. The bags slowly deflate with most of the stored air releasing into the box. I also have recieved more dead fish than most some due to importing but most in bags with rubber bands or wire ties. This is my 3rd year of shipping fish and have shipped a total of 800 + boxes with less than 50 dead fish. Just my thoughts and how I do it.

When shipping I use insulation 1/2 that is used in houses as most of the lining. I have used other stuff foam etc. all seem to work well the insulation I find less messy than stryfoam.

Knot does sound like a better idea. I imagine whether fasting is best or not depends on the fish, probably not a good idea with small fry.

What were the causes of the ones that got lost? Were the packages just smashed or were they particular varieties?

**j0onahra3** · 07-19-2011, 8:09 PM

I'm having trouble figuring out what cold pack to use to ship fish/shrimp/snails.
I bought two HUGE boxes of gel cold packs from ULINE.
But i'm not sure if it goes in the freezer or the refrigerator.. this is my first time trying to ship snails during the summer.. so i'm completely clueless..
Will this gel pack be WAY too cold to ship snails in a small flat rate priority box?
I dont want them to be TOO cold.. : /
Anybody know how to ship with a cold pack?

**demonte1997** · 08-23-2011, 1:15 AM

Quick shipping question regarding shrimp: I'm getting some really small prawn from TX. They are the size of ghost shrimp. I live in CT. The guy sending them to me is going to use a flat rate box USPS box. Ideally, he wants to put 10-18 in a bag and blow it up with pure oxygen. Do you think they'll make it? I assume it depends on how long they are in transit. I was thinking they will take 3 days to arrive. Any suggestions to helping make sure they will live?

Thanks for taking the time to make the writeup at the beginning of this thread. It's very helpful.

**LiveMermaid07** · 08-29-2011, 6:01 AM

6 Try to use tranquillizer, bag buddies will only last 5-6 hours, but if its the only option, its fine.

what tranquilizer? how? how much?
bag buddy is what?

specifically, I may be shipping a betta in the next few weeks. I think it's only a few states over (will check before sh obviously, lol).
It's about 90-97 F, should I use a cold pack?
And for cold pack, what kind?, where do I get one?, how do I use it (like the heat pks that go in the clothes? just snap it?), and where in the layering of the box should it go in relation to the betta??
Thanks!

Also same questions for platy fry.
And how old should they be before shipping?
(It'll probly be at least 3-6 weeks before sh those, but that's cause they'r not born yet lol; so that would put it in Oct and I'm also wondering if they might be ok without either hot or cold pack then? - here it's roughly 80 in the day in Oct and 40-69 at night, should be roughly the same where they are going.)

**LiveMermaid07** · 09-22-2011, 4:15 AM

Originally Posted by LiveMermaid07

6 Try to use tranquillizer, bag buddies will only last 5-6 hours, but if its the only option, its fine.

what tranquilizer? how? how much?
bag buddy is what?

specifically, I may be shipping a betta in the next few weeks. I think it's only a few states over (will check before sh obviously, lol).
It's about 90-97 F, should I use a cold pack?
And for cold pack, what kind?, where do I get one?, how do I use it (like the heat pks that go in the clothes? just snap it?), and where in the layering of the box should it go in relation to the betta??
Thanks!

Also same questions for platy fry.
And how old should they be before shipping?
(It'll probly be at least 3-6 weeks before sh those, but that's cause they'r not born yet lol; so that would put it in Oct and I'm also wondering if they might be ok without either hot or cold pack then? - here it's roughly 80 in the day in Oct and 40-69 at night, should be roughly the same where they are going.)

The fry have been born. Now if only they'll stop escaping from the breeder (?? O.O`) and getting eating by the gourami...

So how old do they need to be before shipping?
(I think from ga to tn so not real far. the temps are down to the 80's now.)

Any tips for fry shipping?

Thanks.

**jetajockey** · 09-22-2011, 4:37 AM

http://www.petfish.net/reviews/bag_buddies.php

I've never bothered using bag buddies or any other tranquilizer or whatever. The fish are pretty chilled out once you get them bagged and into the box in the dark.

I use regular cold packs from walmart/kmart. Kmart in particular has a 'cryopak' that fits perfect in a 7x7x6 priority box. Insulate the box well and you probably won't have any issues, I've been shipping every week for the past several months without any major issues.

As to how big the platys need to be, its really your call but I would wait till they are at least dime to nickel sized, so at least a month +